The Posterior Chain

Run 800 meters

Clean and Jerk, 30 reps

Run 800 meters

Let’s talk about the posterior chain. It is one of Coach Glassman’s main philosophies that ‘powerful hip extension is necessary, and damn near sufficient, for elite athleticism.’ And the posterior chain refers to the muscles responsible for producing hip extension: glutes (butt), hamstrings, adductors (inner thighs), and for stabilizing purposes, the lower back.

If you are inflexible or weak in any link of the posterior chain, your potential for explosive hip extension, and therefore fitness will be blunted. It is for this reason that we always stress shoving the hips back and the knees out for most of our starting positions from the ground. On average it can take an adult 3 to 5 years to regain full command of their posterior chain if they have spent a lifetime with bad posture and no squats. I remember watching this video on the simple air squat and this video on the standard deadlift start and being horrified that I couldn’t achieve these simple but foundational positions. So make sure to put in your due diligence with any lacking part in your posterior chain!